Think Battle Bots, That's what we designed it for. Ours weighed 120lbs and dominated the middle weight for 2-3 years including 2 national titles. It took a lot of work... and money. There wasn't much else to win, so it was retired.

Since then the bot's been cannibalized and My buddy Mike (it's his bot), and my Nephew are using the speed controllers and batteries, adding some processors and solid state gyros, to make Segway clones. Mike's a skater, but also a techno gearhead. my nephew who was also on the team, is a future CEO/Inventor/VCmagnet and currently a highschool kid (who already has a patent) he just wanted something cool to ride to school.
b.

ok battle bots,,,,so did you make tv or what.

my intro,,,i need no intro lol everybody knows me ,,,,,,,,well been a skating parent for 17 years,,,or should i say x now that hes retired. went to nationals from 92 to 2006 and have a good background in singles and know very little about dance and figures. also i been putting together skates for over 30 years so i know a bit about art skates, little about quad speeds and next to nothing about inlines. i myself did skating, the roller disco type and learned jumps and spins from art skaters and others back then. also was a basketball player and competitive swimmer and was in the martial arts, akido and karate and also taught karate in college. was a basketball and baseball coach. not much more to know.

I kind of tripped over the live feed of Nationals one day and a week later I knew I had gotten next to nothing done at work and I craved getting back on skates!!!

I skated in the mid to late 80's in northern NJ at the Hampton Roller Rink. Ed Taylor was my coach. His daughter Kristen skated world class singles for a few years but I'm not sure what she's doing now. I was one of those girls who never found the right partner for dance so I was stuck competing in figures and the occassional solo dance class. Freestyle and I never really clicked but I was extraordinarily proud of myself when I finished my silver tests in american and international dance!! I never got the chance to try for gold tests before college and life got in the way.

Over the past 16 years or so I've popped up at a couple of rinks but I live and work in DC and getting to rinks is a chore with the traffic here!! However, watching Nationals reminded me of all the things I used to do and knew I still could with a little practice. I was inspired in a way I would never have been at a typical session. All I need is a new set of boots and I'm back - I think!

When the discussions have mentioned marketing skating and getting others involved I think the internet could make all the difference. So what if cable and network television don't want to pay attention to our kind of skating. We can all show our interest by watching all sorts of competitions online. Worlds, Nationals even inter-club meets would show people what's out there. Now we just need to figure out how to get the high speed feeds, cameras etc., without putting rink owners in spasms over the expense.

I've enjoyed reading all the threads and I'm glad you guys are all out here. Its hard not to sit here and think, "if only I had this when I was skating! things would have been so much different!!!!"

I kind of tripped over the live feed of Nationals one day and a week later I knew I had gotten next to nothing done at work and I craved getting back on skates!!!

I skated in the mid to late 80's in northern NJ at the Hampton Roller Rink. Ed Taylor was my coach. His daughter Kristen skated world class singles for a few years but I'm not sure what she's doing now. I was one of those girls who never found the right partner for dance so I was stuck competing in figures and the occassional solo dance class. Freestyle and I never really clicked but I was extraordinarily proud of myself when I finished my silver tests in american and international dance!! I never got the chance to try for gold tests before college and life got in the way.

Over the past 16 years or so I've popped up at a couple of rinks but I live and work in DC and getting to rinks is a chore with the traffic here!! However, watching Nationals reminded me of all the things I used to do and knew I still could with a little practice. I was inspired in a way I would never have been at a typical session. All I need is a new set of boots and I'm back - I think!

When the discussions have mentioned marketing skating and getting others involved I think the internet could make all the difference. So what if cable and network television don't want to pay attention to our kind of skating. We can all show our interest by watching all sorts of competitions online. Worlds, Nationals even inter-club meets would show people what's out there. Now we just need to figure out how to get the high speed feeds, cameras etc., without putting rink owners in spasms over the expense.

I've enjoyed reading all the threads and I'm glad you guys are all out here. Its hard not to sit here and think, "if only I had this when I was skating! things would have been so much different!!!!"

I look forward to getting to know you all better,
Jennifer Dollar

Hi good luck and welcome to the board and hopefully back to skating. yes the internet is great for skating.

is your last name really Dollar, i love that name and hope you have many dollars

HELLO my name is Juanita and I used to skate when I was younger, but my parents never let me compete, so I guess you could say that I never got to take my 1st test to advance to (at that time)JO. So now, its about 15 years later and I am BACK and ready to go. I'll be skating for the 2008 season and will be skating out of Seabrook, MD under coach Ronnie Fitzgerald.

HELLO my name is Juanita and I used to skate when I was younger, but my parents never let me compete, so I guess you could say that I never got to take my 1st test to advance to (at that time)JO. So now, its about 15 years later and I am BACK and ready to go. I'll be skating for the 2008 season and will be skating out of Seabrook, MD under coach Ronnie Fitzgerald.

Juanita,

You are one lucky puppy! Ronnie Fitzgerald is one of the best coaches in the country. He is excellent with kids and adults. Suck up all you can learn from him. He's a great coach!

You are one lucky puppy! Ronnie Fitzgerald is one of the best coaches in the country. He is excellent with kids and adults. Suck up all you can learn from him. He's a great coach!

Mary Lu

WOW, I didnt know he was one of the best coaches in the country. So, I guess I feel REALLY lucky!!! One thing I learned about him is that he is very patient and very honest and that is what I'm looking for amongst other things.. like his GREAT coaching skills I will definitely mention to him on Friday that I was told that I am very lucky to have him as a coach. Take Care.

Hi, my name is Rex and I am the proud parent of 2 artistic skaters, Rebekah 12 years old and Maddison 9 years old, I am also a commissioned referee.
We live in Rowville, Victoria, Australia and skate at Caribbean Rollerama.
Rebekah and Maddison skate - Freeskating, Figures, Creative Solo Dance and Precision, both are on quads.
When we are not skating, hang on there is no other time to do anything else
Our girls train up to 6 days a week, Rebekah has 5 training sessions with her coach a week and Maddison has 3 with her coach. This all adds up to about 8 to 9 hours per week.
Rebekah competed at her first National Championships in 2006 in Sydney and came home with a Silver medal for Figures and a Silver for Precision.
This year in 2007 at Nationals in the Gold Coast, Queensland Rebekah came home with a Silver in Precision and a fourth in her Figure event.
Maddison competed at the nationals in Gold Coast as well in the under 10's development competition and won Bronze.
You may have guessed that my wife and I are very proud and we both enjoy the sport.
We are all heading for the World Championships for a few days to watch precision, show and inline, can't wait

If your wondering why I have "Buick" in my screen name, we own a 1939 Buick sedan, a very classic car !!

hello we are from Kent in england i am 12 and my brother is 9, we are artistic roller skaters and compete in solo dance and free, i have skated for great britain 10 times and my brother 5 times, i have been british champion in my age groups 8 times and my brother 4 times in his age groups, we have been to cup of europe me 6 times my brother once, and i have won cup of europe once and my brother once too, we have been very lucky and been to germany, croatia, sardinia, italy, france and portugal, we also skate at the majority of the club competitions throughout the year and this year was fortunate to be asked out to train with the italians, we also very lucky to now have a sponsor (www.everglides.co.uk) (reidell)who supplies all our boots and plates and wheels etc and my tights, which takes a lot of expense off my mum, as she a single parent and we cost her a lot of money, as in england we have to pay lots to hire floors, we are not fortunate like lots of european clubs where they have rinks of there own and pay very little to hire, we pay about £50 an hour to hire ours and some are only small school halls plus training fees so its a very expensive sport, i use reidell boots called legacies for dance on a reactor plate with varsity plus wheels and i use roll-line plates with edea flys with giotto wheels for free but have reidells to go into soon as i out growing these. my brother is in the rediell raven boot with powerdyne plate and riva wheels for free and varsity for dance, we have our outfits made by a friend, our outside sports are anything we can we both love sport, i go gymnastics, netball, football athletics and have a large trampoline in my garden, my brother loves to play football and gymnastics and golf and squash, so we all very sporty, we love skating and my brother is now looking for another partner as his partner outgrew him last year, so if anyone out there wants a partner he skates 8yrs old and is taking his first 2 tests together in the next few months mia and kai x

hello we are from Kent in england i am 12 and my brother is 9, we are artistic roller skaters and compete in solo dance and free, i have skated for great britain 10 times and my brother 5 times, i have been british champion in my age groups 8 times and my brother 4 times in his age groups, we have been to cup of europe me 6 times my brother once, and i have won cup of europe once and my brother once too, we have been very lucky and been to germany, croatia, sardinia, italy, france and portugal, we also skate at the majority of the club competitions throughout the year and this year was fortunate to be asked out to train with the italians, we also very lucky to now have a sponsor (www.everglides.co.uk) (reidell)who supplies all our boots and plates and wheels etc and my tights, which takes a lot of expense off my mum, as she a single parent and we cost her a lot of money, as in england we have to pay lots to hire floors, we are not fortunate like lots of european clubs where they have rinks of there own and pay very little to hire, we pay about £50 an hour to hire ours and some are only small school halls plus training fees so its a very expensive sport, i use reidell boots called legacies for dance on a reactor plate with varsity plus wheels and i use roll-line plates with edea flys with giotto wheels for free but have reidells to go into soon as i out growing these. my brother is in the rediell raven boot with powerdyne plate and riva wheels for free and varsity for dance, we have our outfits made by a friend, our outside sports are anything we can we both love sport, i go gymnastics, netball, football athletics and have a large trampoline in my garden, my brother loves to play football and gymnastics and golf and squash, so we all very sporty, we love skating and my brother is now looking for another partner as his partner outgrew him last year, so if anyone out there wants a partner he skates 8yrs old and is taking his first 2 tests together in the next few months mia and kai x

Woah.. your very serious with skating.. i'm not.. I couldn't really care one way or the other, i skate for fun. You are lucky to have a sponser.. I have to work (age 15) for evetything.. Clothes, skating, wheels, maintance, tights, 1/2 coaches (grandma helps out), entry fees, and soon car insurance/gas.

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[CENTER][SIZE="1"]"If the good Lord had intended us to walk, he wouldn't have invented roller skates." - Willy Wonka[/SIZE][/CENTER]

hi snydertoe stops, i only got the sponsor this year i have been skating for 9yrs, and my mum works hard to pay for all our training,it is the 1st time i have ever had new skates, we all have had 2nd hand till now, i also have a sister of 21 who has only just started paying for her training, but we have never had holidays as my mum has supported us, you say you dont care and do it for fun, i do it for fun too, my sister got to gold standard in dance she never earnt any money at it it was for fun, my brother too, we love our skating and my mum has said that if you want something you have to work for it and i really want to go to europeans, and i skate, and do other sports, but i help at out my sports , to pay for some of my training and im 12, so it hasnt been easy, i hope you dont think im was boasting i was just telling people about me and my family ,mia .

I'm an ex-skater. My last year competing was 1996 I think. I competed in freestyle and figures. I did a little bit of pairs too (juvenile - freshman) but my focus was really the freestyle. I'm from Massachusetts; I skated out of the Warwick, RI and then the Milford, MA clubs.